Murdoch Projects “Solid Profitability” for News Corp.

NEW YORK, October 20:
While conceding that News Corporation will be “tested” in these challenging
economic times, chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch has projected “solid profitability” for the year ahead, thanks to the
global reach of the company’s assets.

Speaking at the company’s
annual stockholders meeting, Murdoch said that News Corp. was in a good
position to weather the current crisis, with the “right balance” of
ad-supported and subscription-based businesses. “We are as well positioned as
we can be to face what may well turn into a prolonged economic downturn.”

Boosting subscription
revenues and further exploiting its digital media assets will be priorities,
Murdoch continued.

He also noted that the
company has a $5-billion “war chest” for potential acquisitions.

—By Mansha Daswani